Global COVID-19 deaths top 170,000: Johns Hopkins

The global COVID-19 death toll has topped 170,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Tuesday morning, a total of 170,324 people have died of the disease, while the global number of coronavirus cases stood at 2,477,426, data compiled by the university's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) showed.

The US with 42,335 deaths and 787,370 cases currently accounts for the highest number of infections and fatalities in the world.

The other countries with over 20,000 deaths are Italy (24,114), Spain (20,852) and France (20,265).

On Monday, Italy for the first time recorded a fall in its total active COVID-19 infections, and Spain saw its lowest single-day fatalities in the past four weeks.

Spain has the world's second highest number of cases at 200,210, followed by Italy with 181,228.